May 17, 2013

Damage is evident on the green at the 17th hole at Brown County Golf Course on Thursday. Weather-related problems at the course have rendered four of the 18 greens unplayable, prompting a reduction in the fees that golfers pay. / H. Marc Larson/Press-Gazette Media

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Gannett Wisconsin Media

HOBART — Weather-related problems at the Brown County Golf Course have rendered four of the 18 greens unplayable, prompting a reduction in the fees that golfers pay.

The situation has forced the county to use temporary greens on holes no 2, 8, 13 and 17 and to consider an accelerated timetable for replacing all 18 greens on the course, at 897 Riverdale Drive. It also creates some uncertainty about scheduled events, including the annual Brown County Men’s Amateur tournament.

“This won’t be a good year for golfers,” said Supervisor John Vander Leest, who chairs the county’s Education and Recreation Committee, which oversees the course. “But it will be an improvement in the long run. Next year, everyone will be saying, ‘wow, the greens are great.’”

Because temporary greens are in use, the county has slashed the fees it charges. An adult can play 18 holes of golf for $20, down from $31. The nine-hole cost is $10, down from $18. Fees will remain at discounted levels until the greens have been restored, course Superintendent Scott Anthes said.

Replacing the putting surfaces would require the county to loan about $400,000 to the golf course, which operates without tax dollars. The course would remain open, but golfers would have to play on temporary greens on all 18 holes once replacement would begin this year — possibly in June. Officials said temporary greens would be in use into next spring.

The course, opened in 1958, regularly ranks as one of the top municipal layouts in the state. But officials said age and “winter kill” — damage from freezing — have combined to leave the greens in bad shape.

“The greens are 55 years old,” said County Executive Troy Streckenbach. “It’s time we got that taken care of. If we wait until the end of the season to start replacing greens, we’re into June 2014” before the new greens would be playable.

Poor weather conditions have led many Northeastern Wisconsin courses to delay opening this season, and some in the region are using temporary greens on some holes. Last year, most area courses were open by late March.

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Brown County supervisors hope that they can begin the repair project by selecting a contractor at a special meeting, likely June 6, Vander Leest said. They said replacing greens all at once will make play difficult this year, but believe most golfers would prefer that to dealing with having parts of the course torn up in each of the next several years.

But lawmakers would have to approve the loan before work could begin.

If the county commits to replacing all 18 greens this year, it would have to consider rescheduling the Brown County Men’s Amateur, now slated for August, Anthes said. The annual event attracts up to 200 golfers. He said the county might also have to work with organizers of the 13 group outings planned for the course this year to account for the need to make repairs.

Anthes said course conditions are better than when the facility opened in late April. Originally, nine holes required temporary greens.

In 2005, several greens sustained a severe case of winter kill. Still, groundskeepers were able to restore enough of the course to be able to host a statewide amateur tournament in July.

County statistics show that use of the golf course declined each year from 2007, when 36,525 rounds were played, through 2011, when 27,242 were recorded. The course showed a net loss of about $115,000 in 2011, the most recent year for which such figures were available.

County leaders this winter called for a five-year master plan to “start making much-needed improvements to remain competitive” with the course, and have discussed selling 79.77 acres of county land next to the site as a way to increase revenue.